Gordon Lightfoot Forums - View Single Post - TOP 20 Singer-Songwriters-L.A.Weekly

charlene · 05-12-2014, 01:01 PM

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Johnny Cash There's something about the singer-songwriter, the self-contained musical artist whose compositions succeed largely on the strength of his or her imagination. When determining our top 20, we considered both solo artists, and singers who were the primary songwriters for their bands. -Nicholas Pell

#20 -Gordon Lightfoot -
There are two kinds of people in this world: Gordon Lightfoot evangelists and people who've never actually bothered to listen to him. His champions include Bob Dylan, Vincent Gallo and the entire nation of Canada. Even his most recognizable hits, "Sundown" and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" run rife with darkness. "10 Degrees and Getting Colder," is a tale about what are perhaps the last minutes of a hitchhiking failed country singer. Quit the ironic snickering and head down to the local dollar bin - ten bucks will grab you most of his catalog. -Nicholas Pell

Dolly Parton - COURTESY OF THE ARTIST
Courtesy of the artist Dolly Parton 19. Dolly Parton
All through the '80s, Dolly Parton was a boob joke. Then, in 1992, Whitney Houston belted out "I Will Always Love You," and the world was reminded that Dolly had written this epic end-of-an-era tune about Porter Wagoner, and that she had written thousands of songs and sung them with more blonde ambition than Madonna could ever dream of. And, Jack White? You will never achieve Dolly's level of Nashville swagger, no matter how hard you riff on "Jolene." -Cristina Black

Elliott Smith - COURTESY OF THE ARTIST
Courtesy of the artist Elliott Smith 18. Elliott Smith
Good Will Hunting. American Beauty. The Royal Tenenbaums. Each film has at least one character struggling with depression. So it's probably no coincidence that each soundtrack features hauntingly beautiful music from the late Elliott Smith. An ever-evolving musician - compare the instrumentation on Roman Candle and Figure 8 - he was also capable of conveying gut-wrenching emotion without sounding disingenuous. His soft, plaintive voice and harrowing lyrics are perfect for whenever sorrow looms. -Max Bell

Hank Williams - COURTESY OF THE LABEL
Courtesy of the label Hank Williams 17. Hank Williams
With apologies to Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams is country music, and not just because handlers followed him everywhere, keeping his drug addiction under wraps. His slim corpus represents some of the finest songwriting ever, genre be damned. Though mainstream country threw him under the bus, Hank continues to inspire today's traditionalists such as Whitey Morgan, Sturgill Simpson and Lydia Loveless. Hank taught us it takes a world of hurt to play country like it's meant to be played. -Nicholas Pell

David Bowie -
It's hard to even know what to call David Bowie: Ziggy Stardust, The Thin White Duke, Aladdin Sane, The Man Who Sold The World, or (my personal favorite) Jareth the Goblin King. All of those characters were responsible for classic material, but perhaps the most groundbreaking of Bowie's identities was his sexual one. Openly bi-sexual, he successfully proselytized Mick Jagger into a love affair. Playboy playmate Bebe Buell claims the two often propositioned her to join them in orgies with "four gorgeous black women" or "four gorgeous black men." Also, the fact that a British bloke wrote a song with as much plastic Americana soul "Young Americans" is a testament to Bowie's abilities. -Kai Flanders

Johnny Cash - ALBUM COVER ART
Album cover art Johnny Cash 15. Johnny Cash
Cash was the original country outlaw. If Elvis was the flashy extrovert of the 50s, Johnny Cash was the sullen brooder. As we know, he was never stuck in Folsom Prison and he never shot poor Delia down. You'd be forgiven for believing that he did, though, with his mournful vocals ringing over his slow-and-steady "boom-chicka-boom" sound. His later catalog holds up and his work with Rick Rubin is easily the latter's greatest contribution to music. Sorry, Beastie Boys and Slayer. -Nicholas Pell

Prince -
If Prince had only written and produced "Little Red Corvette," "When Doves Cry," and "Purple Rain," his legacy would still be secure. After signing to Warner Brothers at 17 (and recently re-entering the fold with them), The Purple One reshaped pop music in his image, and it looks more like him with every passing decade. -Molly Bergen

Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Judkins got signed as a singer-songwriter to Motown records - at age 11 - after performing his own song "Lonely Boy" to Ronnie White of the Miracles. Wonder started touring at 12 and co-wrote a lot of his hits, including "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" "I Was Made To Love Her" and "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours." Those were his teenage efforts, and you know the rest. He remains a fountain of songs, bringing joy to all who hear him. -Molly Bergen

Van Morrison -
Blues legend John Lee Hooker once said, "Van's a real blues man and he has the blues inside him. It doesn't matter whether he's white or Irish." And no matter which genres Van Morrison commingles - folk, pop, jazz - the soulfulness and inherent pain of the blues remains in his voice. His imagistic lyrics are delivered with a Jocyean stream of consciousness, capable of rendering Belfast countryside celestial. The distinctive and deliberate lyrical repetition Morrison often employs deepens the listener's understanding of the music and themselves. -Max Bell

Willie Nelson -
Willie Nelson's lovable iconoclasm was born of Depression-era Texas, his parents' whiskey-fueled wanderlust, and the moral rectitude of the grandmother who raised him. Across his long career - '60s jukebox naïveté, earnest '70s outlaw country ("You can't make a record if you ain't got nothin' to say"), singalong '80s chart toppers ("On the Road Again," "Always on My Mind"), and even oddities like Countryman, his 2005 reggae foray - the strengths of Nelson's songwriting are constant: honesty, humor, and an unflinching subversive edge. -Theis Duelund

Robert Johnson -
Robert Johnson is the most important bluesman in history; Rimbaud, from the Mississippi Delta . A street corner myth; a supernatural strummer; the devil's prodigy - nobody knows for certain. He first recorded in 1936; he died a year later at 27. The cause, a mystery. Some say he was done repaying Satan for his talents. That's probably true. -Art Tavana

continued in next post;

05-12-2014, 01:01 PM	#1
charlene Moderator Join Date: May 2000 Posts: 16,001	TOP 20 Singer-Songwriters-L.A.Weekly http://www.laweekly.com/westcoastsou...wFullText=true Johnny Cash There's something about the singer-songwriter, the self-contained musical artist whose compositions succeed largely on the strength of his or her imagination. When determining our top 20, we considered both solo artists, and singers who were the primary songwriters for their bands. -Nicholas Pell #20 -Gordon Lightfoot - There are two kinds of people in this world: Gordon Lightfoot evangelists and people who've never actually bothered to listen to him. His champions include Bob Dylan, Vincent Gallo and the entire nation of Canada. Even his most recognizable hits, "Sundown" and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" run rife with darkness. "10 Degrees and Getting Colder," is a tale about what are perhaps the last minutes of a hitchhiking failed country singer. Quit the ironic snickering and head down to the local dollar bin - ten bucks will grab you most of his catalog. -Nicholas Pell Dolly Parton - COURTESY OF THE ARTIST Courtesy of the artist Dolly Parton 19. Dolly Parton All through the '80s, Dolly Parton was a boob joke. Then, in 1992, Whitney Houston belted out "I Will Always Love You," and the world was reminded that Dolly had written this epic end-of-an-era tune about Porter Wagoner, and that she had written thousands of songs and sung them with more blonde ambition than Madonna could ever dream of. And, Jack White? You will never achieve Dolly's level of Nashville swagger, no matter how hard you riff on "Jolene." -Cristina Black Elliott Smith - COURTESY OF THE ARTIST Courtesy of the artist Elliott Smith 18. Elliott Smith Good Will Hunting. American Beauty. The Royal Tenenbaums. Each film has at least one character struggling with depression. So it's probably no coincidence that each soundtrack features hauntingly beautiful music from the late Elliott Smith. An ever-evolving musician - compare the instrumentation on Roman Candle and Figure 8 - he was also capable of conveying gut-wrenching emotion without sounding disingenuous. His soft, plaintive voice and harrowing lyrics are perfect for whenever sorrow looms. -Max Bell Hank Williams - COURTESY OF THE LABEL Courtesy of the label Hank Williams 17. Hank Williams With apologies to Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams is country music, and not just because handlers followed him everywhere, keeping his drug addiction under wraps. His slim corpus represents some of the finest songwriting ever, genre be damned. Though mainstream country threw him under the bus, Hank continues to inspire today's traditionalists such as Whitey Morgan, Sturgill Simpson and Lydia Loveless. Hank taught us it takes a world of hurt to play country like it's meant to be played. -Nicholas Pell David Bowie - It's hard to even know what to call David Bowie: Ziggy Stardust, The Thin White Duke, Aladdin Sane, The Man Who Sold The World, or (my personal favorite) Jareth the Goblin King. All of those characters were responsible for classic material, but perhaps the most groundbreaking of Bowie's identities was his sexual one. Openly bi-sexual, he successfully proselytized Mick Jagger into a love affair. Playboy playmate Bebe Buell claims the two often propositioned her to join them in orgies with "four gorgeous black women" or "four gorgeous black men." Also, the fact that a British bloke wrote a song with as much plastic Americana soul "Young Americans" is a testament to Bowie's abilities. -Kai Flanders Johnny Cash - ALBUM COVER ART Album cover art Johnny Cash 15. Johnny Cash Cash was the original country outlaw. If Elvis was the flashy extrovert of the 50s, Johnny Cash was the sullen brooder. As we know, he was never stuck in Folsom Prison and he never shot poor Delia down. You'd be forgiven for believing that he did, though, with his mournful vocals ringing over his slow-and-steady "boom-chicka-boom" sound. His later catalog holds up and his work with Rick Rubin is easily the latter's greatest contribution to music. Sorry, Beastie Boys and Slayer. -Nicholas Pell Prince - If Prince had only written and produced "Little Red Corvette," "When Doves Cry," and "Purple Rain," his legacy would still be secure. After signing to Warner Brothers at 17 (and recently re-entering the fold with them), The Purple One reshaped pop music in his image, and it looks more like him with every passing decade. -Molly Bergen Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Judkins got signed as a singer-songwriter to Motown records - at age 11 - after performing his own song "Lonely Boy" to Ronnie White of the Miracles. Wonder started touring at 12 and co-wrote a lot of his hits, including "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" "I Was Made To Love Her" and "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours." Those were his teenage efforts, and you know the rest. He remains a fountain of songs, bringing joy to all who hear him. -Molly Bergen Van Morrison - Blues legend John Lee Hooker once said, "Van's a real blues man and he has the blues inside him. It doesn't matter whether he's white or Irish." And no matter which genres Van Morrison commingles - folk, pop, jazz - the soulfulness and inherent pain of the blues remains in his voice. His imagistic lyrics are delivered with a Jocyean stream of consciousness, capable of rendering Belfast countryside celestial. The distinctive and deliberate lyrical repetition Morrison often employs deepens the listener's understanding of the music and themselves. -Max Bell Willie Nelson - Willie Nelson's lovable iconoclasm was born of Depression-era Texas, his parents' whiskey-fueled wanderlust, and the moral rectitude of the grandmother who raised him. Across his long career - '60s jukebox naïveté, earnest '70s outlaw country ("You can't make a record if you ain't got nothin' to say"), singalong '80s chart toppers ("On the Road Again," "Always on My Mind"), and even oddities like Countryman, his 2005 reggae foray - the strengths of Nelson's songwriting are constant: honesty, humor, and an unflinching subversive edge. -Theis Duelund Robert Johnson - Robert Johnson is the most important bluesman in history; Rimbaud, from the Mississippi Delta . A street corner myth; a supernatural strummer; the devil's prodigy - nobody knows for certain. He first recorded in 1936; he died a year later at 27. The cause, a mystery. Some say he was done repaying Satan for his talents. That's probably true. -Art Tavana continued in next post;